Craig Counsell – Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell led the Brewers to their first playoff berth since 2011, winning the National League Central crown. But Counsell fell short in the voting for National League Manager of the Year, as the Baseball Writers gave the honor to Atlanta’s Brian Snitker.
Snitker picked up 17 of 30 first-place votes to 11 for Counsell. Counsell is the fourth Brewers manager to finish runner-up, joining Tom Trebelhorn, Phil Garner and Ron Roenicke. No Brewer manager has ever captured the honor.
Snitker helped take the Braves from 72 wins a year ago, to 90 wins this past season.
Counsell’s Brewers won eight straight games to finish out the regular season, overtaking the Chicago Cubs for the Central Division title.
Counsell completed his fourth season as the Brewers manager. He went 73-89 in his second season (2016), then improved to 86-76 a year ago before leading his team into the National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.
A big reason for the improvement came from the acquisition of outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. Yelich is the favorite to win the 2018 National League MVP Award, which will be announced on Thursday.